It’s been awhile since I posted a new recipe here on my website, so today, I wanted to share with you a super delish and amazingly easy spinach artichoke dip. And I promise you, it is well worth the wait. I have been wanting to make a healthier spinach artichoke dip for awhile now but just hadn’t had the time or the right occasion to do it. A last minute get together for New Year’s Eve provided me the perfect opportunity to try my hand at lightening up the usually high saturated fat, calorie laden dip, without decreasing its delicious factor.

How did I do this? Well, a lot of spinach artichoke dips contain boatload of cream cheese, mayonnaise, or both, which adds a lot of calories and saturated fat. Not that these ingredients are inherently bad, but when you are shoveling a delicious dip in your mouth, the saturated fat and calories can really add up quickly. So instead of cutting out the cream cheese completely, (cause you gotta have some creaminess factor for your spinach artichoke dip), I used a combination of reduced fat cream cheese, nonfat greek yogurt, and parmesan cheese. I felt that it was the perfect amount. The dip wasn’t too dry (all veggies and no “dip”), nor were the veggies over saturated. It also had great flavor, and no one could taste the yogurt. After I gathered all my ingredients I just mixed them all together in the pan I was going to bake it in (less clean up) and popped it in the oven…. and that is pretty much it!

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it turned out! You can do this by commenting here on my website or snapping a pic and tagging me @delishnnutrish on instagram or on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/delishnnutrish/.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Healthier Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

10 Ounce Box of Frozen Chopped Spinach

9 Ounce Box of Frozen Artichoke Hearts

2 Minced Garlic Cloves

4 Ounces Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, Softened

1/2 Cup Nonfat plain Greek Yogurt

1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Pinch of Salt

Dash of Ground Pepper

Directions

Thaw frozen veggies according to package directions and ensure spinach is drained well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop up artichoke hearts into bite sized pieces. Add everything to a 8×8 glass baking dish and mix well. Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

When I’m short on time or I’m running low on fresh vegetables, I like to combine fresh veggies with canned ones for a quick and easy meal that still helps me meet my nutritional needs. When buying canned ingredients, I compare different brands and choose the one that is lowest in sodium, preferably no salt added, if possible. I also drain and rinse my canned beans and veggies that do have salt added to help further decrease the sodium level. If you like to use a lot of canned ingredients I would suggest investing in a little mini colander so you can easily rinse off your canned beans and veggies without having to use your bigger one. That way you can save precious dishwasher space and you may be more likely to actually take the time to rinse them off

This week was pretty busy so I wanted to make a really easy, healthy and delicious meal that would be able to feed both me and my husband for two nights. Throwing veggies, beans, and whole grains into a pan and baking it seemed like a really good way to accomplish my goal. I also wanted to do a vegetarian dish because 1) I love vegetarian dishes, 2) Adding meat seemed like an unnecessary extra step, and 3) My friend Stephanie is a vegetarian who loves casseroles/bakes and is always looking for healthy recipes…so this recipe was partly for her. I chose to use mediterranean flavors in this recipe because I love them… annnnd I also happened to have a can of artichokes in my pantry I wanted to use. So if you like easy healthy recipes, veggies, chickpeas, and quinoa, this recipe is just for you.

Mediterranean Quinoa Bake

Ingredients

1 Cup Uncooked Quinoa

1 Can (16 oz) Reduced Sodium Chickpeas- Drained and Rinsed

1 Can (14 oz) Quartered Artichoke Hearts- Drained and Rinsed

1 Can (12 oz) Roasted Red Peppers- Drained and Rinsed

3 Cups Raw Baby Spinach

4 Plum Tomatoes – Sliced

1 Cup Low Sodium Vegetable Broth

1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic

1 Teaspoon Dried Basil

1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano

3/4 Cup Reduced Fat Crumbled Feta Cheese

2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Directions

Cook quinoa according to package directions and preheat oven to 350 degrees. While quinoa is cooking, add remaining ingredients except for feta cheese and balsamic vinegar to a large mixing bowl. Toss ingredients together mixing well. After quinoa is done cooking, spread quinoa evenly in a 9×13 inch glass baking pan. Top with veggie mixture. Cook in oven for 20 minutes or until veggies are warm and soft. Remove from oven, sprinkle feta cheese and drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top of casserole. Place back in oven for about 5 more minutes until cheese is warm and slightly soft. Remove from oven and serve. Enjoy!

Up until recently, I haven’t had beets for quite some time. Maybe the occasional beet on a salad at a restaurant or at a wedding, but I would never just make them myself. Then, a few things happened. First, my sister made spiralized beets when I went to visit in March and they were really good. I think we put balsamic and something else on them…maybe honey, and just roasted them in the oven. Then, I actually ordered roasted beets at a tapas style restaurant when my brother was here visiting, and they were amazing. It made start thinking about creating my own similar dish. Finally, I happened to find a container of pre-spiralized beets at my local publix…yes I am that lazy/busy person that likes to take an occasional shortcut. Anyways, there was now no excuse not to try my hand at a delicious beet recipe.

Before I give you the recipe I should probably tell you why you should eat beets. Other than the fact that they are delicious of course. The short story is that beets are a vegetable and vegetables are good for you, we all know that. But why beets specifically? One of the great things about these root veggies is their high dietary nitrate content. Nitrates are a compound made up of nitrogen and oxygen and are naturally found in our food supply. They are abundant in vegetables such as leafy greens and beets and have been shown to help lower blood pressure and enhance exercise performance. So beets are delicious and heart healthy…you definitely have to try them now!

Spiralized Beets with Oranges and Blue Cheese

Ingredients

4 Cups Spiralized Beets

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar + Extra for Drizzling

1 Cup Mandarin Orange Slices

1/4 Cup Reduced Fat Blue Cheese Crumbles

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss beets with olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar in a medium roasting pan. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and toss in oranges. Mix together and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until oranges are warm and beets are to desired tenderness. Remove from oven, stir and place in serving dish. Top with blue cheese and drizzle with more balsamic vinegar if desired. Serve warm immediately or refrigerate and serve cold.

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About Me

Hi, my name is Caryn and I am registered dietitian nutritionist in Florida, but an Ohio native. I currently work full time in Miami, am raising a beautiful baby girl with my husband, and am working tirelessly on growing my own business. I love eating healthy but hate overly complicated recipes and doing dishes. Come join me on my journey to a healthy and happy life!